St. Paul, MN –Pheasants Forever has released its 2017 Pheasant Hunting Forecast, the most comprehensive upland hunting planner in the nation. While record snowfalls and a severe drought in 2017 contributed to significant bird population decreases in parts of the Midwest, expanses of the West and Great Plains show exciting signs for the season ahead. Future pheasant hunting prospects will rely heavily on the quantity and quality of grassland habitat available, stressing the importance of the 2018 Farm Bill and the resolve of upland hunters to advocate and contribute to the work of habitat conservation.

Pheasant hunting prospects for 2017 are a mixed bag of good and bad news, offering the traveling bird hunter an expectation of remarkable wingshooting in certain states with a bit of boot leather mileage, intel, and personal grit. On the flip side, Pheasants Forever remains steadfast in its task to help restore grasslands in the Midwestern states – South Dakota, North Dakota and Minnesota – where a perfect storm of extreme weather conditions and the loss of Conservation Reserve Program acreage have led to significant population decreases since last September. Read more

Close-up of brook trout in angler’s handsThe Michigan Department of Natural Resources is proposing an increase to the brook trout possession limit on select Upper Peninsula stream sections starting in April 2018.

The brook trout daily possession limit has been set at five (5) for the past 17 years. During that time, many requests were received from anglers wanting to keep more fish. Sparked by these requests and with interest from the Natural Resources Commission and input from the DNR’s Coldwater Regulations Steering Committee, department fisheries staff investigated social and biological aspects of increasing the brook trout possession limit from five to 10 on a subset of Upper Peninsula streams. Read more

The New AR Hunter Series – Now Available At Wilson Combat® When it comes to lightweight, large bore AR perfection, the Wilson Combat HUNTER series sets the new benchmark for hard-hitting, accurate precision semi-auto shooting performance.Designed to be the lightest large bore AR’s on the market, the HUNTER series from Wilson Combat consists of three all-new models of varying weights and features chambered in high-performance precision and hunting calibers like 6.5 Creedmoor, .260 Remington, 7mm08 Remington, .308 Winchester, .338 Federal and .358 Winchester. With the majority of the major components of the HUNTER series designed and machined in our Berryville, Arkansas facility you can be assured that these new rifles have been thoroughly tested to be the best that a lightweight AR rifle can be and are guaranteed to shoot sub one-inch, three-shot groups at 100 yards. Read more

Today, NovX is introducing the most effective, lethal combination of bullet technology in more than a century. Stainless steel and copper polymer have come together to create the first 9mm Luger +P and standard pressure Engagement: Extreme Self-Defense cartridges. At 1,655 FPS there is no +P copper poly bullet that is faster. At 65gr there is none lighter. The bullet flies flatter than lead, offers less felt recoil, and creates absolutely devastating wound channels. Today the world discovers brass and lead had their chance. Welcome to the new world.

The NovX 9mm ARX® Engagement: Extreme Self-Defense cartridge is a totally new and revolutionary patent-pending class of ammunition. It combines the intellectual properties of a polycarbonate/copper ARX® bullet with the Shell Shock Technologies™ (SST) stainless steel casing and aluminum primer base, operating on the principle of Aero and Fluid Dynamics, not hydrostatic shock or mushrooming. The NovX technology is replacing old-world brass with a stronger, lighter and more consistent cartridge, creating possibly the most accurate defensive handgun ammunition on the market. Read more

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s, two iconic brands and leaders in the outdoor industry, have officially joined forces with a vision to become North America’s premier outdoor and conservation company. The combined company is poised to provide customers with unmatched offerings spanning premier destination retail, outdoor equipment manufacturing, world-class resort destinations and more with a strong commitment to advancing conservation initiatives. Read more

FireDisc customers, vendors and investors have stepped up to help donate 75 emergency FireDisc cookers for the on-going relief efforts in Florida following the widespread devastation caused by Hurricane Irma.

om the Coastal Conservation Association of Florida (CCAF), Islamorada Beer Company and the University of South Florida Police Department are receiving cookers to distribute that will help people who have been affected by the hurricane prepare meals, as well as supplying FireDisc cookers to first responders who are providing relief.

“Many people have lost their homes, jobs and many of their possessions,” said Jose Herrera, Co-Founder of the Islamorada Beer Company. “These cookers will help them provide meals for their families until they can get back on their feet. We’re focusing our efforts in the Florida Keys, which were particularly hard hit.”

“I was contacted by FireDisc after Hurricane Irma had impacted Florida. They immediately expressed interest in helping the first responders mitigate any concerns of cooking and feeding those effected by the storm due to sustained power outages and flooding throughout the Tampa Bay area. With these generous donations, FireDisc Cookers will be an essential piece of survival equipment now and for future use within the Tampa Bay area,” said Lt. Marty King, University of South Florida Police Dept.

FireDisc Cookers is continuing their support of those affected by both Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma by donating 100% of the profits from the FireDisc Shallow 24” Short Portable Propane Cooker (Special Bundle & Special Pricing). For more information on how to help and benefit with the “Cookers for a Cause” campaign please visit their web site at https://www.firedisccookers.com/harvey-irma-relief/

For more information about “Built to Haul, Cooks it All” FireDisc Cookers visit their web site at www.firedisccookers.com

Several years ago, a young man, who had yet to take his first deer, was welcomed to our hunting land. He sighted in his firearm and proved he could shoot good groups on the paper targets. We explained the rules and allowed him to choose any stand that was not going to be occupied by another hunter.

One particular stand had been the site of many successes over the years, and naturally, he wanted a piece of the action. If I were present when he’d arrive, I’d always ask where he was heading, and invariably he’d select that one “perfect” stand. There was one problem: There is no such thing as the perfect stand.

In fact, that stand had now become over-visited by our new hunter. Once I realized what was happening, I made that stand off limits to him until further notice, because he was not only spoiling the site for himself, but for others that may have wanted to hunt that same stand from time to time.

On a relatively small parcel of hunting land, hunters do not have the option to enter stands from different directions and thus run the risk of becoming patterned by the local deer population. And, when one considers that the home range of deer is within a small area of cover and food, it’s easy to understand that they are quite familiar with their surroundings. This is how patterning develops.

Secondly, playing the wind should always be the primary consideration when choosing a stand for the day. There is no perfect stand for every weather-related circumstance. Because of this, giving yourself options is best – and, the more, the better.

A recent study shows that a hunter’s chance of seeing a mature deer is lessened by 50 percent after 12 hours of hunting that location. Practicing good scent management can help, but the best advice is to hunt prime sites only when the season progresses into the rut in late October.

Whether you believe all the hype about scent control clothing or related paraphernalia, there is still no more effective way to minimize detection than to hunt into the wind, and that’s why successful hunters provide themselves with hunting-site options.

With our prevailing wind from the west, it makes sense to have some set-ups that take advantage of these patterns. However, on those rare occasions, stands facing east will be a better choice. So, if you haven’t done it already, get those shooting lanes cleared, and get those stands in place so that you do not become the source of education for the deer in your hunting area. There simply is no one best spot.

A ranch about five miles west of Dupuyer lost 10 calves earlier this week to grizzly bears.

The cattle were located in a creek bottom with thick willow cover. Specialists from USDA Wildlife Services, working in coordination with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks’ bear specialist, confirmed a grizzly was the cause of the depredation and at least 12 grizzly bears were in the area, including sows with cubs.

This depredation event near Dupuyer presents a unique challenge for the landowner and bear specialists alike because the high density of bears could result in more depredations. Additionally, there is uncertainty as to which bear, or bears, killed the cattle, and it is an extremely difficult and dangerous circumstance for specialists to try and capture individual bears. The cattle that were in the creek bottom have been moved to a different pasture to allow for better protection. The livestock owner will be eligible for compensation from the livestock loss fund. Read more

Sharp-tailed grouse are found in greatest concentrations in the Upper Peninsula in Chippewa and Schoolcraft counties.

A map shows the sharp-tailed grouse hunting area in the eastern Upper Peninsula.

Mention grouse to most Michiganders and they immediately assume you’re talking about ruffed grouse, game birds that thrive in early successional forests – think aspen – and provide much of the romance in upland bird-hunting lore.

But there’s another grouse in Michigan that is far less numerous and widespread and is pursued by far fewer hunters. Sharp-tailed grouse are prairie birds, inhabiting grasslands and the neighboring brush, found only in the Upper Peninsula – and mostly on the east end.

While only a relative handful of sportsmen hunt them, they offer a unique upland opportunity to Michigan bird hunters. Michigan also has spruce grouse, which are not hunted. Read more

Following the success of the Contender 300 lighted nocks for high speed crossbows, Nock Out used this knowledge to develop a lower profile lighted nock for vertical bows.

Corey Paulsen, National Sales Manager for Nock Out, said, “We feel that we have fully covered the entire spectrum of consumer tastes with the introduction of the Contender.”

Both the Contender 300 (Only lighted nock approved for use on the Mission MXB400) and the newly released Contender (vertical bows) follow a theme of straightforward design, reliability, and strength making these nocks the best choice for both crossbow and vertical bow users.

Like the rest of the lighted nock line, the Contender features the easy reset function. To turn off the nock, you simply pull back on the nock. This allows the user to return to shooting within seconds with no fuss or frustration.

Nock Out states that while this version of the nock is universal fit, the Contender sizing starts at “X” (.204″/5MM) ID meaning that unfortunately it will not fit into the industry’s micro diameter arrows.

The package includes a set of bushings for each lighted nock which enables users to install the nock into “X” (.204″/5MM), “H” (.233″/6MM), “S/GT” (.245″/6.5MM). By doing so, Nock Out could greatly reduce the added length of the nock resulting in a nock with a sleek, low-profile design. Read more